ArticleSupportive care in cancer : official journal of the Multinational Association of Supportive Care in Cancer2026
Exploring the network structure and lived experiences of preoperative fear in patients with esophageal cancer: a convergent mixed-methods study.
Article in Supportive care in cancer : official journal of the Multinational Association of Supportive Care in Cancer, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
0 citing papers in PubMed.
No citing paper in PubMed yet.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
6 authors.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundPatients undergoing esophageal cancer surgery often experience multidimensional preoperative fear. Quantitative assessments alone may not fully capture how these fears are understood and experienced.
aimTo examine the network structure of preoperative fear and explore patients' experiences through integrated quantitative and qualitative findings.
methodsA convergent mixed-methods design was used. Quantitative data were collected from 584 patients using the Surgical Fear Questionnaire and analyzed with network analysis. Qualitative data were obtained through semi-structured interviews with 18 patients and analyzed using codebook thematic analysis. Findings were integrated through a joint display.
resultsFEAR3 (fear of pain) had the highest expected influence and occupied the most central position in the network. The strongest connection was between FEAR3 and FEAR4 (fear of side effects). FEAR5 (fear of health deterioration) showed the highest mean score but lower expected influence. Four themes were identified: fears of deterioration, incomplete recovery, and burden; anticipating surgical pain; fear arising from limited understanding and fragmented information; and loss of bodily control during surgery and anesthesia. Integration showed that fear of pain was both statistically central and experientially salient, while qualitative findings expanded understanding of concerns related to information uncertainty, dignity, bodily control, and vulnerability.
conclusionPreoperative fear in patients with esophageal cancer involves interconnected concerns about pain, side effects, health deterioration, recovery, information uncertainty, and loss of control. Pain-related fear may be an important focus for preoperative nursing assessment and education. Patient-centered preoperative care should address pain expectations, recovery concerns, information needs, and issues of dignity and control.
Indexed as
Identifiers
42412239What Socratic holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the Socratic graph.